﻿President's Address. 



17 



ECHIXODERMATA. 



No group has been more popular with our marine 

 zoologists than the Echinoderms — Star-fishes, Sea-urchins, 

 and Sea-cucumbers — the study of which Forbes's classic 

 ' History ' of the British species, published in 1841, has 

 done so much to promote. Most of the pioneer Eorth 

 naturalists took an interest in them and have left records, 

 but none studied them to such good purpose as Edward 

 Forbes and John Goodsir. A i^"otice of the Echinodermata 

 of the Firth of Forth," by J. Foggo, published in the Edin- 

 burgh Journal of Science for 1825, is of some local interest 

 though of little scientific value. Coming to more recent 

 times, we find F. M. Balfour, Leslie, and Herdman giving 

 attention to the group. In their valuable Catalogue of Firth 

 of Forth Invertebrates, the last two naturalists record 32 

 species (I deduct Astrophyton linckii and Asterias violacect), 

 to which Dr Scott has since added two, namely, Luidicc sarsi, 

 Dlib. and Kor., and Brissopsis lyrifera (Forbes).^ The Bris- 

 sopsis is a specially interesting discovery, for, while abundant 

 on the west coast of Scotland, this Heart-urchin is rare on 

 the east coast. Scott has also been able to give a fresh 

 record for HippasteHas phrygiana (Vaiel) = plana (Linck).- 

 Mr Pearcey, who has an intimate knowledge of Echinoderms, 

 has published a number of useful records of species, none, 

 however, new to the list, which he dredged in the Firth of 

 Forth while engaged on the Fisherv Board's investigations.^ 

 By shore-collecting and a little dredging in bygone years, 

 I have myself gained some knowledge of the group. 



Thus it may safely be assumed that our knowledge of the 

 Echinodermata of the Firth of Forth is tolerably complete, 

 and although the list comprises only 34 species, I feel sure 

 there are very few to add. The fact that Echinus acutus, 

 Lam., has been got near St Andrews, E. elegctns, Dub. and 

 Kor., off Montrose, and Echinocardiurii pewnatifidum, Norm., 

 off Holy Island, no doubt gives hope of one or other of 



^ Proc. Bay. Phys. Soc. Edin., xi. p. 82 ; Sixth, Eighth, and Xinth 

 Fishery Board Reports; and Ann. Scot. Xat. Hist., 1892, p. 50. 



Proe. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edin., si p. 82; and Ann. Scot. Xat. Hist., 

 1892, pp. 49, 50. 



Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasgoic, vi. (n.s.), pt. ii. (1892), pp. 228-244, 



